GALESBURG, Illinois - In the final game of the regular season, the Prairie Fire women's basketball team took on Ripon College on Senior Day on Saturday with a conference tournament berth on the line. Knox forced overtime, but the Red Hawks ended their season with a final score of 60-57.
Morgan Potter knocked down a jumper to start the scoring for the Prairie Fire. The first quarter was very close and back-and-forth. At the end of the first quarter the Prairie Fire led 14-13.
The second quarter was more of the same until the 3:07 mark. A made jumper by Ripon would kick-start a 13-2 run to end the half. The Prairie Fire offense was out of sync for most of the first half as they shot 27.6% from the field and didn't hit a three-point shot. Morgan Potter led the team in scoring with 10 points. Catessa Duran was her usual active self, contributing with two steals, two rebounds, and three points.
The opening minutes of the third period did little to help Knox overcome the deficit, but they stayed close enough to stage a comeback. Two free throws at the end of the quarter by Jarrelyn McCall cut the deficit to nine heading into the final quarter.
Ripon extended their lead early in the fourth period, but they couldn't keep the Fire down. Duran came up huge down the stretch. She had active hands on defense and knocked down her free throws. The free throws were a catalyst in the Prairie Fire making a comeback. Battling back from a 14-point deficit, the Praire Fire would fight and claw their way back. With 1:20 left in the game, Karlie Thorn knocked down two free throws to make it a four-point game.
A jumper by Jarrelyn McCall would make it only a two-point game and the Prairie Fire still had a chance. Ripon would convert 1-of-2 free throws to make it a three-point game and give Knox the ball with enough time to do some damage. Karlie Thorn missed a three-pointer, but a crucial rebound by Catessa Duran would give Thorn another chance and the all-time three-point leader for Knox would not miss twice. Her three would tie the game and send it into overtime.
In overtime, the Prairie Fire ran into some foul trouble as point guard Taliah Ellis and McCall both fouled out. Knox fought hard and sent the seniors out with a memorable game, but the league-leading Red Hawks ended up winning by three.
Potter led the Prairie Fire with 16 points in the final game of her career. Fellow senior Thorn also added 14 points and moved her to 984 career points and into third place in Knox history. McCall also poured in 13 points thanks to a 7-for-8 showing from the charity stripe.
Knox went 13-12 on the season to finish over .500 for the fourth straight season for only the second time in school history. The senior class of Ellis, Potter, and Thorn had a great four-year run and finish with the most conference wins by a class in school history.
"This senior class really helped put us on the map," said head coach Emily Cline. "The led us to the conference tournament in 2018 and took a good Ripon team to overtime to nearly put us in again in 2019. They will be missed, but they have set the groundwork for many good things to come."
